When animals are confined in relatively small spaces, such as horses being confined to typical horse stalls, the confinement sometimes adversely affects their behavioral patterns. It is common to provide "toys" in such confined areas or stalls to permit the animal to manipulate or play with the toys. Such animal activity frequently has a positive influence on the animal's "attitude".
It has also been found that frequently animals' behavioral patterns are favorably influenced by auditory signals such as music. For example, subjecting dairy cattle to music was found to have beneficial effects on the animals. However, the prior art has not provided an animal amusement device that permits the animal to interact with such auditory signals in a controlled and reliable manner while providing a rugged and reliable apparatus for achieving such interaction.